The Boulder Chamber: Advocating for balance

As City Council prepares for its annual retreat this weekend, the Boulder Chamber offers this public pledge to collaborate in addressing the challenges and opportunities our community faces.

The chamber and the city have partnered for over a century to promote Boulder's economic strength. Boulder businesses are well aware that we all benefit from the careful balance our city has achieved with respect to environmental, social and economic values. The investments Boulder makes in open space, multi-modal transportation, affordable housing and many other environmental and social sustainability initiatives, as well as the city's valuable support for economic vitality programs, create a climate where our businesses can thrive. This unique balance is key to our collective economic success.

When the Boulder Chamber challenges council's approach to meeting community goals, we focus on the impact to both the short and long term success of the businesses on which our strong economy depends; impacts that could jeopardize the very balance that makes Boulder such a special place to live and work. We believe it is our duty to raise these issues, not merely as an advocate for business interests, but also as a champion for the preservation of social and environmental values.

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The Boulder Chamber's approach to the municipalization issue is a case in point. Despite concerns about the inherent risks associated with municipalizing Boulder's power utility and the dependence of our member businesses on affordable and reliable energy, we did not directly oppose studying this option. Our opposition to ballot issues 2B and 2C were primarily focused on our unaddressed concerns regarding proportional representation on a future utility's governing board. Still, if the City of Boulder, through objective analysis, can guarantee rates that are consistent with what we already pay, if reliability is the same, and yet we can expeditiously convert to more environmentally friendly energy options, who among us wouldn't want to head in that direction?

With the narrow passage of ballot issues 2B and 2C and Boulder's further exploration of the municipalization option, the Boulder Chamber has engaged in the analysis with an open mind. This is, however, the most consequential decision the City of Boulder has ever considered and failure to adequately account for costs and system reliability issues could have impacts not just on Boulder businesses; it could literally bankrupt our community. For this reason, we will earnestly scrutinize the study data and analysis and assert our views with full vigor. We also will explore alternative approaches to achieving Boulder's environmental goals with less potentially perilous stakes.

Ultimately, with respect to municipalization and all other policy issues, we intend to work with City Council and the Boulder community to advance our mutual interests. This is best achieved through early engagement that invites true collaboration. Along the way, you can expect us to be clear when business interests have not been adequately addressed and when there is a risk of placing undue burden on the economic end of the sustainability balance. We also will advance proactive solutions to the problems we face and promote opportunities worth seizing. We hope City Council welcomes this type of input and scrutiny with the understanding that we offer it in the best interest of the entire community and for the protection of what makes Boulder so special.

The Boulder Chamber looks forward to the results of City Council's annual retreat and we stand ready to assist in achieving community goals as a partner and an advocate for business interests in balance with the social and environmental values we all cherish.

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